The Ill Fated

(TRANSLATION OF “BADNASEEB”)

Misfortunate

Misfortunate is he who is deprived of Allah Almighty's
blessings. Allah Almighty's blessings are innumerable. The
biggest of the blessings is Jannah (Heaven) which can be
attained by those who are obedient to Allah Almighty. Allah
Almighty's obedient followers are those who have accepted
Islam as their religion, lived by its principles and died following
it. Those who did not believe in Islam remained as rejecters and
mushriqs (those who associate partners with Allah Almighty).
Those who accepted Islam but later turned against its
principles are the ones who turned murtads and died in that
state. Those who accepted Islam on the face but sheltered
animosity against it remained munafigs. There are also those
who accepted Islam and followed its principles all their lives
but owing to some difficulty spoiled their own lives. Quran and
hadiths prove that all these people i.e kaafirs, mushrigs,
murtads, munafigs and those who lost hope in Allah Almighty's
blessings and committed suicide will not be gdimitied in
Heaven. All of.them are Jahannami's (inmat

(Malun

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>
Iblis was a highly regarded Jinn (being ae trom
mankind). He believed in Allah Almighty and that there is none
like Allah Almighty. He was aware of Allah Almighty's wrath and
the His stern punishment if we do not follow His orders. Iblis
had lived in Heaven and had even spoken to Allah Almighty.
Hence it is understood that his belief in Allah Almighty was
naturally high. . But it is also true that he is one of the most
misfortunate among all the misfortunate beings of this world.

Those who desire to live with their faith and die with their faiths
will learn a lesson from the life of Iblis. His story finds a mention
at several places in the Quran. Few of them are mentioned
below.

One day Allah Almighty planned to create a Human being. That
human being was Hazrat Adam (Peace be upon him). Allah
Almighty announced to the angels that He would soon be
creating a human being out of clay.

Allah Almighty said:

“I will create human being and make him my Khalifah (God's
representative) on earth. So when I finish creating, adorning
and blowing the soul in him, you willall prostrate before him”.

After this Allah Almighty created Adam (Peace be upon him)
with clay and ordered everyone to prostrate before Adam.
Everyone bowed before him, except Iblis.

Iblis was one of the Jinns, created by fire. He did not prostrate
and this angered Allah Almighty and He asked,

“Why did you disobey my command and why did you not
prostrate before Adam”?

Allah Almighty was very angry with Iblis. But Iblis out of his
arrogance and pride did not bother to ask forgiveness for his
disobedience nor did he repent for his mistake. He was jealous
that Adam was honoured by Allah and not him. His creation
from fire led him to believe that he was superior to Adam and
his arrogance had turned him blind that even when he was
removed out of Jannah he didn't bother to seek Allah's
forgiveness and protection. Hence he was forever kept away
from Allah's blessings.

Allah Almighty always favors his followers and loves those who
seek his forgiveness. Allah would have definitely forgiven Iblis
but arrogance, jealousy and disillusionment had blinded his
sense of reasoning.

Instead of seeking Allah's forgiveness, he stubbornly answered
Him:

“You wanted to humiliate me, which is the reason you gave this
honor to Adam and put a stumbling block in my path. Now, I will
shake the roots of the human being whom you have given such
honor. lam ruined but I will also ruin him. I will attack his faith
from all sides. You will see how I will drive him away from your
path. Very few human beings will escape my trap.”

Iblis's answer made Allah Almighty command,
“Go away you cursed one and hear, those among Adam's

children who will follow your commands will be your
companions, and I will fill Jahannam (hell) with them. But
remember, that you will not be able to destroy the faith of those
devoted to me.”

Iblis was considered the ‘cursed’ one and was also told about
his punishment. He was also told that whoever follows him will
be considered as his companion and will find a place in
Jahannam. Astagfirullah (May Allah forgive us).

Moral

When we read about this episode in the Holy Quran, we
learna valuable lesson, that

* However high in life we get, or attain an elevated
position in our faith, we have to remain modest and
humble.

We must avoid pride and keep praying to keep our
faith intact. We do not know what will happen the next
moment.

Also, however big a sin we may have committed, we
must never lose hope in Allah who is often forgiving.
Allah can forgive the biggest of sins, the only condition
being that we do not leave the side of Allah and should
always do Istegfaar (seek forgiveness).

Iblis challenged that he will divert mankind from
Allah's Path and hence most of the people wrong
themselves by worshiping others besides Allah,
associating partners with Allah, and doing evil deeds
under the influence of Iblis's temptation.

But those who are sincere believers; they fight Ibis's
temptations and follow only Allah's guidelines.

& Kaabil

Hazrat Adam (Peace be upon him) and Hazrat Hawwa (Peace be
upon her) were the first human beings created by Allah. They
were sent to the earth on His command. They were blessed with
many children. All human beings are their descendants. Allah
ta'ala made Adam (Peace be upon him) His prophet too
i.e He gave him responsibilities to guide his children to the
right path, teach them the correct methods of His worship
and more importantly warn them against the biggest enemy
of mankind “Shaitaan”(Iblis) who wants to divert mankind
from following Allah's instructions and worshipping Him alone.

Adam (Peace be upon him) was instructed by Allah to warn his
children that they would have to protect themselves against
Iblis (Shaitaan). If they forget their real master i.e Allah and fall
into shaitaan's trap, it will lead to mischief on earth.. There will
be fights and immorality everywhere and they will have to bear
the sufferings in their life after death (aakhirah). Whereas
those who worship Allah alone and do good acts will be gifted
with Jannah (Heaven), which is a beautiful place with all
wonderful gifts.

Hazrat Adam (Peace be upon him) fulfilled his responsibilities
in an able manner. He proved himself to be Allah's obedient
servant by passing on every instruction that he received from
the Almighty. At that time, Hazrat Adam (Peace be upon him)
and his children lived in their own, small world, where they
were receiving a good upbringing. The children too were
learning from their parents.

But not all of his children were pious and obedient. To be pious
and obedient you need to develop some qualities in you. Those
who remember Allah Almighty, fear Allah's punishment for bad
acts, try to learn good things, follow them in their life are the
one's whom Allah Almighty gives right guidance and protects
them from Shaitaan.

Those who do not remember Allah Almighty, do not fear His
punishment, do not bother about what instructions Allah
Almighty has given them or do not want to follow them
intentionally and remain pleased with whatever right or wrong
they are doing, are not blessed by Allah Almighty. Such people
become distant from Allah and closer to shaitaan and follow
shaitaan's instructions which are pleasing and entertaining to
them.

They find freedom in obeying Shaitaan because they find it easy
to fulfill all their desires by following him. Such people finally
fall in a pit called Jahannam (Hell) which is full of burning fire
and are punished harshly. Hence such people are called
misfortunate.

Let's take the example of Kaabil.

Kaabil was the son of Hazrat Adam (Peace be upon him) and
Hazrat Hawwa (Peace be upon her). He was born and brought up
ina pure and pious family in the loving care and right teachings
of his pious parents. But as he grew up he fell into the trap of
shaitaan, he forgot Allah Almighty and had no fear for aakhirah
(life after death where we will be judged for our acts in this
world).

Those who wish to live with their faith and die with their faith
intact will find many lessons from the story of Kaabil. This story
is mentioned in the Quran and also in the Bible.

Now let's read his story how he was deprived from Allah
Almighty's blessings.

Haabil and Kaabil were brothers. Once there was a competition
between the two brothers. Their father Hazrat Adam (Peace be
upon him) told them, “You both present a gift to Allah Almighty.
The one whose gift is accepted by Allah Almighty will be
declared the winner.”

Both followed their father's orders but Kaabil brought some
useless food grains as a present while Haabil brought from his
herd of sheep the finest sheep as his offering.

Allah Almighty who is the knower of hidden and unseen things
was well aware of Kaabil's intentions behind presenting a
useless gift. He knew that if Kaabil loved and feared Him he
would have presented better gift to please Him. But his useless
gift proved that Kaabil had no fear of Allah Almighty. So Allah
accepted Haabil's gift who presented finest gift to please Allah
Almighty. Thus Adam (Peace be upon him) declared Haabil as
the winner.

After hearing this decision Kaabil's heart burnt in jealousy.
Since he had no fear of Allah Almighty, shaitaan took the
opportunity to misguide him.

He was filled with anger and warned Haabil that he would kill
him. Haabil, who had the fear of Allah Almighty tried to make
him see reason and said, “Brother, this is Allah Almighty's
decision and if we do not accept it, we will be disobeying Him.
Oh my brother, Allah Almighty listens to those who fear
disobeying him and do such deeds that please him.

Allah Almighty has accepted the gift of the one who was just.
What is the point in getting angry? Even after this, if you try to
fight or kill me, I will try to defend myself, but will never try to
kill you. But by attacking me, you will not only take the burden
of your own sins but my sins
too on yourself. This will lead
you to Jahannam, which has
been created to punish those
who sin.” I fear Allah Almighty
whois the master of the whole
universe.

Kaabil was full of anger and
ashamed about his loss. He
did not listen to Haabil's

advice and killed him when he got an opportunity.

After killing his brother, he was worried as he did not know
where to hide his dead body. Till then, there was no death
among Adam's children and hence no one knew about the burial
procedure. Kaabil was thinking hard when suddenly, he saw a
crow digging the ground. The crow then put the body of another
dead crow in the pit and covered it with the mud. Seeing this,
Kaabil felt relieved that he got a way to get rid of the body.

In doing all this he felt no guilt in disobeying Allah Almighty and
killing an innocent man. As a result, he became distant from
Allah Almighty's blessings and died without seeking His
forgiveness.

"INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAYHI RAJIOON"
“TO ALLAH WE BELONG AND TO HIM WE SHALL RETURN.“

This dua is from Quran Surah Al Bagarah chapter 2 verse 156
Misfortunate Kaabil's life came to an end.

“Rasulallah (peace be upon him) said in a hadith that in this
world, whenever someone is murdered owing to cruelty, the
blame of it goes to
Kaabil. The reason
being, that he was the
first man who set an
example of murder
owing to cruelty.”
This Hadith [saying of
Prophet Muhammed
(Peace be upon him)]
is from Masnad
Ahmed-a book of
collection of Hadiths.

Moral

+ Always fear disobeying Allah Almighty and keep
yourself away from deeds that will distant you from
Allah Almighty.

Jealousy and Anger are few of the many bad qualities
of shaitaan.

To retain your faith, always seek Allah Almighty's
blessings, for we do not know when our heart and
mind will be distracted the next moment.

¢ Dua for Safeguarding our faith:

“RABBANA LA TUZIGH QULOOBANA BA'DA IDH
HADAYTANA WA HAB LANA MILLADUNKA RAHMAH
INNAKA ANTAL WAHHAB”

“OUR LORD! (THEY
SAY), LET NOT OUR
HEARTS DEVIATE NOW
AFTER YOU HAVE
GUIDED US, BUT
GRANT US MERCY
FROM YOUR OWN
PRESENCE; FOR YOU
ARE THE GRANTOR OF
BOUNTIES WITHOUT
MEASURE”

This dua is from Quran Surah
Aale Imran chapter 3 verse 8

54
Kanan
[A Prophet's Misfortunate Son]

Kanaan is that ill fated who despite being the son of a
great Prophet remained deprived of Allah Almighty’s blessings.
The Quran mentions his story in such a manner that teaches us a
valuable lesson. His story proves that Allah Almighty is not
pleased with someone just because, he is the son of a Prophet,
or has a prestigious family background or is related to someone
who is dedicated to Allah Almighty. He is pleased with those
who are in agreement with His orders, fear disobeying Him and
are forever doing good deeds.

Kanaan was the son of a great Prophet, Noah (peace be upon
him). Hazrat Noah (peace be upon him) is that Prophet of Allah
Almighty who taught people to worship only one Almighty God -
Allah and follow Allah's orders. He taught people this same
message for nine hundred and fifty years, but only a handful of
people listened to him, accepted this teaching and became
Muslims. The remaining made fun of him and troubled him, his
own son being one of them. After nine hundred and fifty years of
perseverance, when things did not improve, Allah Almighty
commanded Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) to make an Ark
as per His directions. He also told him that He would destroy all
unfaithful people from his community. So he should not favour
his community nor feel sad for them. After receiving these

commands, Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) took the help of
a few companions to build the Ark. Kanaan and his companions
would laugh at them and say, “Will you sail this Ark on dry land?

Hazrat Noah (peace be upon him) would reply, “You won't laugh
for long. Very soon, a time will come when you will cry for your
misdeeds and there will be none who will hear you.”

Finally, the day which was promised to him arrived, the water in
the oceans swelled up. Allah Almighty commanded Hazrat Noah
(peace be upon him) to take a pair of every animal with him in
the Ark. He also instructed him to take with him his family as
well as those who had brought faith in Islam.

Hazrat Noah (peace be upon him) obeyed His commands. But
his wife Kaafira had become a part of the disbelievers as Kanaan
encouraged his mother.

Then it started to rain heavily. The heavy downpour began
causing destruction. The rivers began to flood. Slowly,
everything began to drown. Hazrat Noah's Ark was floating in
the water. When he saw his son with the disbelievers, his
fatherly love surfaced and he told Kanaan, “Son, leave these
tormentors side, heed to Allah's commands and come in our
Ark.”

Though Kanaan heard t
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Even though, he could see the terrible storm with his eyes, he
turned down his father's request by saying, “I will climb the
mountains and save myself.” Hazrat Noah (peace be upon him)
tried persuading him by saying, “Today, only those will be
saved from drowning, whom Allah wills.”

As this conversation between the father and son continued, a
gigantic wave suddenly took Kanaan along with it and in no
time, he drowned. On seeing the sad plight of his son, Hazrat
Noah (peace be upon him) was overcome with grief. He
complained to the Almighty, “Oh Allah, my son has drowned,
although you promised me that you will safeguard my family.”

To this, Allah replied, “When was he a part of your family? He
was a companion of the disbelievers and committed several
sins. If you do not understand this, then why do you come to me
with this plea?”

Hazrat Noah (peace be upon him) realized his mistake on
hearing these words of the Almighty. He immediately
apologized and understood that one has to pay for his deeds,
even if heis the son of a Prophet.

The misfortunate Kanaan drowned and was also declared as a
Jahannami (a dweller of Hell). Being punished with Jahannam
as one's destiny after death is the biggest misfortune of all.

. Hazrat Noah's (peace be upon him) misfortunate son Kanaan's
story came to an end. It reminds us the words of our beloved
last Prophet of Allah Almighty Mohammed’s (peace and
blessings be upon him) words that he once told the 'Quraish'
tribe, his family ‘Bani abd munaf' and to his close family
members.

“Oh! The people of Quraish. Worry about protecting yourself
from the tortures of Jahannam. I cannot save you from Allah's
wrath at all. Oh! Abd Munaf's family, I cannot save you from
Allah's wrath. Oh! Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib (the prophet's

uncle), I cannot save you from the wrath of Allah at all Oh!
Safiya, (the prophet's paternal aunt) I cannot save you from the

wrath of Allah at all. Oh, my beloved daughter (Fatima Zahra), 1 ve
will give you all the riches you ask for, but I cannot save you.

from the wrath of Allah at all.”

This implies that one should think about safeguarding oneself.
Only your faith and practicing the guidelines laid down by Islam
will come to your rescue from Jahannam.

Moral

Though Kanaan was the son of the honorable and
(Allah Almighty’s) trusted prophet, he was not spared
from punishment for his misdeeds.

Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) too warned
his close family members to take care of their own faith
and mend their ways to save themselves from hell fire.
His relation with them would not benefit them in any
way if they disobey Allah.

Similarly we cannot save ourselves from the torments

of hell by giving excuse of any pious man's favour or
prestigious family background or relation to someone
whois devoted to Allah Almighty.

We should come forward to study and understand our
religion and keep praying to Allah Almighty to keep us
steadfast in our faith as long as we live, and remain
in the company of faithful companions. Oh Allah, Let

“La ilaha illallah Muhammad ur Rasulallah “(there
is none worthy of worship besides Allah and
Mohammad (peace be upon him) is Allah's Prophet be
on my lips till my last breath.

: Prophet. Allah uf
> of Misr, a place where the Prophet lived wi
srael -children of Israel) andalso the community of Karti.
ajority of the population was of Kaliyon who also ruled there.

Their king was Pharaoh, who owing to his power brought the
minority community of Bani Israel under his slavery. Due to the
hardships of long term slavery, the people's faith in Allah
Almighty had decreased and their characters had become weak.
Hazrat Moosa (peace be upon him) had to face many challenges,
like carrying out Allah Almighty job of spreading Islam in the
Misr community, facing the powerful king Pharaoh and trying to
develop moral values in his community, the Bani Israel.

His efforts yielded some positive changes among the Bani
Israel community. With his encouragement and promotion,
some people accepted Islam. Pharaoh who wanted to rule the
people under his command got annoyed with this revolution
happening in his kingdom. He became a sworn enemy of Moosa
(peace be upon him). As a result, on the command of Allah
Almighty, the Prophet left Israel towards Misr with nine
Muslims. When Pharaoh learnt about this, he immediately
followed him with his army and reached a huge sea near Israel.
But with Allah's Almighty grace and mercy, the Prophet and his
people reached safely on the other side of the sea while
Pharaoh and his army got drowned into the deep waters.

Hazrat Moosa (peace be upon him) migrated to Misr and lived
there. Among his people, there was a man named Saamri. He
was a newly converted Muslim, but he had not understood the
essence of Islam. In Misr, the ritual of worshipping the cow was
very popular. Saamri too was greatly inspired by this ritual.
This belief incurred Allah Almighty's wrath on him, a
’ punishment that could send shivers down your spine and of
course, Jahannam was his destiny after death. The painful
episode of his life gives us many lessons.

Once Hazrat Moosa (peace be upon him) left Misr and went to
Koh-e-toor(mountain of toor) for some time. While leaving, he
made his brother Haroon (peace be upon him) his substitute to
handle the work in his absence. After Moosa (peace be upon
him) left, a mischief struck in Saamri's mind. He collected gold
and silver from people around him. He then melted it to give it
the shape of a calf. It was hollow from inside. Saamri made
holes into the idol in such a manner that if there was air
pressure inside the idol, it would come out with a sound that
resembled the mooing of a cow.

The people of Israel saw this strange episode and were
shocked. The fear of this calf spread and was overwhelming on
everyone. Now, Saamri misused this fear. He said, “Why are you
so surprised? Do you know what this is? It is your God and even

” People with weak faith became victims to this superstition.
Believing that the calf is their God, they began worshipping it.
When Hazrat Haroon (peace be upon him) saw this, he tried
telling people not to be naive. He said,

“That calf is a devilish imagination planted in your minds. Itisa
test of your faith towards Allah Almighty, how can it be your -
God? God is the one who saved you from the clutches of
Pharaoh's slavery, and caused destruction to your enemies.
Listen to me and do not worship the calf?” People did not heed
to Haroon (peace be upon him). They said,

“Until Moosa (peace be upon him) returns, we will worship the
calf. When he comes, we will see what can be done.”

When Hazrat Moosa (peace be upon him) learnt about this
misdeed of his people at Koh-e-Toor, he was upset. In a
frightened state, he immediately left towards his community.
When he reached his destination, he saw several people
engaged in idolatry. He asked them,

“What did you do? Have you forgotten the favors that Allah
Almighty has done for you and the promises made by Him to
you. Yet, in just a few days, you have started indulging in
practices that oppose our faith.”

People said, “No, we haven't
forgotten the promises. But,
Saamri took away our gold and
silver jewellery and made an idol
after melting it. He called it God, so
we started worshipping it.”

Now, Hazrat Moosa (peace be upon
him) inquired with his brother
about the entire episode. He
scolded him too, “I had made you i p.,

my substitute. It was your responsibility to stop this shirk
(associating partners with Allah) from happening”.

Haroon (peace be upon him) replied, “I tried convincing them
not to indulge in these practices. But their senses have been
ruined to such an extent that they did not heed to my requests.
In fact, they even wanted to kill me. I was not bothered about
my life. But I was worried that when you returned, you would
think that I had started dividing the people of Bani Israel.
Owing to this fear, I did not take any stringent action.”

Hazrat Haroon (peace be upon him) was right in a way. Hazrat
Moosa (peace be upon him) turned towards Saamri and asked
him,

“Yes! Hazrat. What were you thinking?”

Seeing Moosa's (peace be upon him) temper, Saamri
immediately realized that all that happened was not correct.

To cover up his misdeed, he immediately made up a story. He
said, “I had seen a thing that no one else had seen when
Pharaoh was coming to attack us with his army. I had seen
Hazrat Jibreel (peace be upon him) (Allah's angel) walking
ahead of us. Wherever, his horse's footsteps would fall, grass
__would grow there immediately. I had picked up some sand from

the footmarks of that horse and sprinkled it on the idol after
making it. And lo, life came into it andit started speaking.”

Saamri's lies are similar to the self-professed saints who
mislead naive people with their lies and rob them. Hazrat
Moosa (peace be upon him) had understood Saamri's mischief
and thus announced his judgement, that

“No one would keep any kind of relation with this hopeless
character”.

He wanted people to see for themselves that Saamri was a
selfish and wicked human being who would suffer for his deeds
in his aakhirah( life after death), and this could not be altered in
any way. After giving the judgement, he told Saamri,

“Now, you see what I do to the God that you pretend to worship.
It will be blown in front of you and its ashes will flow into the
river.”

After this, he explained to the community of Bani Israel,

“Brothers, your master and Lord is none other than the one who
is worthy of worship and that is only Allah Almighty. He is the
all-knowing. Ponder, if these antics and drama is worthy of your
attention? What is this calf? There is no greatness in it. It cannot
bring gain or loss to anyone. We can burn it right now and turn
it into ashes. Forgive me, but can an Almighty be like this? 'LA
HAWLA WALA QUWATAH ILLAH BILLAH (the! eis no power and

nostrength except with Allah Almighty”. -
[ i oe fd

Saying this, on Allah's Almighty command, all those people who
had indulged in the calf worship were killed. Saamri was let go.
But in just a few days, Hazrat Moosa's (peace be upon him)
curse had the effect of making him a patient suffering from
acute leprosy. He was found shielding himself from people
saying, “Do not touch me, and do not touch me.”
For a long period, Saamri remained an example that taught a
valuable lesson to everyone in Israel. The misfortunate was
cursed with a severe punishment in his lifetime, and after his
death, most certainly Jahannam is his destiny.

Moral

Allah Almighty favoured the Bani Israel and saved
them from slavery of Pharaoh.

But Saamri and his people forgot Allah Almighty’s
blessings and turned to their old ways of worshipping
cow and idols.

Allah Almighty does not forgive idol worshippers and
those who associate partners with him.

We should always save ourselves from such sins and if
we had committed such a sin in our life we should
instantly ask forgiveness from Allah Almighty and
never repeat it in our life.

If we die committing shirk we shall be dwellers of hell
forever. Let us pray that:

Allah Almighty protects us from such an end and gives us
the understanding to remain steadfast in our faith. Also
pray to Allah Almighty that we practise all the guidelines
prescribed by AllahAlmighty and protect us from rituals
that endanger our faith. Aameen.

his community or not.

He was living in Misr with the Bani community. At that time,
Pharaoh was the ruler. Kaaroon's reach extended to the
kingdom, infact, he was like a puppet in the hands of Pharaoh.
The Bani Israel community was under Pharaoh's slavery.
Kaaroon kept an eye on the activities of these slaves. If he
learnt of any plans among the slaves to get away from Pharaoh's
clutches, he would immediately inform the authorities about it.
He was heavily rewarded by the king for his treachery towards
his own people.

Allah Almighty sent Moosa (peace be upon him) to Misr as his
prophet. He commanded Moosa (peace be upon him) to help
Bani Israel to attain freedom from the slavery and also warn
Pharaoh that no man can claim to be God and rule over another
man. At that time, in order to support Pharaoh and destroy Bani
Israel, Kaaroon played a very vicious part. He would sit with the
people of Bani Israel, listen to their freedom plans and the
speeches made by Moosa (peace be upon him) to the
community. Kaaroon would then immediately inform the king
about it. Obviously, this trait had made him a favourite of
Pharoah and he would be rewarded with bags of wealth, which
he would add to his vast treasury.

In the Quran too, Kaaroon's capitalist mentality has been
mentioned in complete detail. This greed for wealth was the
reason for his destruction in this life and in the aakhirah. In the
Quran-e-kareem, Kaaroon's state has been mentioned in a
manner that will give us enough lessons. It is as follows: Allah
says,

“Indeed, Pharaoh was from Moosa's community but he
(Kaaroon) betrayed them (Moosa's(peace be upon him)
community i.e Bani Israel) and I gave him so much treasure that
carrying its keys would seem like a burden to a strong man. The
people from his community said to him, “Don't boast and don't
show arrogance. Allah Almighty does not like people who boast.
And whatever Allah Almighty has given you, use from it to
improve your aakhirah. Do not forget that Allah Almighty has
bestowed his favours on you. In the same way, you favour Allah
Almighty's people and don't create unrest. Allah Almighty does
not like people who create unrest.”

To this, Kaaroon said “I have got all this wealth with my
knowledge and skill. g

Did he not know that Allah Almighty has destroyed clans that
were wealthier and more powerful than him?

Then one day (filled with arrogance) Kaaroon decked in
complete finery and accompanied by his slaves went to meet
his clan. The Bani Israel people who aspired for worldly
prosperity looked at him and said, “How we wish that

we also had all that which was givento Kaaroon.He
is surely very fortunate.” But those who were =
bestowed with intelligence and wisdom by jessum
Allah Almighty said, “We pity you. The
one who brought faith in Allah
Almighty and did good deeds is
bestowed with Allah Almighty's
blessings and that is attained only by
those who practice patience.”

Consequently Allah Almighty destroyed him and his people in
his dwelling place underground. No community came to his aid,
that could save him from Allah Almighty's wrath and he
remained helpless. Then, those who praised his wealth and
prosperity and hoped to become like him, said “Oh, shame on
us! It was our mistake. It is Allah Almighty's will to bestow
prosperity amongst his people on whom he wants (and how
much he wants) and deprive him of it. If Allah Almighty had not
favoured us, then for our mistakes, he would have sunk us too.
Misdeeds are misleading. Rejecters of faith never prosper.”

The house of aakhirah is made by Allah Almighty for those who
walk on earth without pride and do not have the intent of
creating unrest. In the end, good will happen to those people
who fear disobeying Allah.

It isin Surah Qasas verse 76-83 of the Holy Quran where the
destruction of Kaaroon is mentioned very clearly.

Moral

When Allah Almighty blesses us with his infinite grace
and blessings and gives us prosperity, it is our duty to
thank him and help his poor people.

If Allah Almighty gives us lesser wealth, we must still be
His thankful believers.

In no circumstance, should we forget Allah Almighty
and never utter anything with our tongue that would
imply our ungratefulness.

We must always pray for patience whatever our
condition.

We should be supporters of those who believe in Allah
Almighty and do good deeds and not the supporters of
those who intend to destroy the believers.

Abdullah Ibn Ubai
(Raeesul Munafiqin=The Leader of the Munafigs)

The man whose salah during the funeral was read by Prophet
(peace be upon him) and the clothing for the dead (kafan) was
given by the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself, will be called
fortunate, isn't it? But, the truth is that there has been a
misfortunate who got both these honours but he still remained
a Jahannami (one who goes to hell). He was Abdullah Ibn Ubai.
He was the leader of the Munafiq Muslims (Those who accepted
Islam on the face but harboured animosity against it) of
Madinah and was also extremely rich.

Abdullah Ibn Ubai was a very influential man of Madinah.
Before the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) migrated
from Makkah to Madinah, there was news that Abdullah Ibn
Ubai was to be pronounced the King, but with the entry of
Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
in Madinah, this did not happen. In Madinah, Islam was the
dominant religion; Abdullah Ibn Ubai's desire to become the
king remained unfulfilled. Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon
him) and Islam thus became his headache. In addition to that,
when Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) won the battle
of Badr, in Which several eminent personalities*Of Quraish-e-
Makkah (a community in Makkah) were killed, Abdullah Ibn

Ubai was Convinced ng ing could stop thé -etieed of
Islam. He wasn't the onf one thi ; :

527

The quality of a munafiq is that he is a coward. He will say one
thing owing to fear but will mean something else in his heart.
They are like the people in Madinah who were angry with the
spread of Islam in their country but could not say anything
against it. After the battle of Badr, many such cowards
reluctantly turned Muslims. But whenever they got an
opportunity to work against Islam and bring down those
working towards its promotion, they did it. The leader of all
these Munafigeens was Abdullah Ibn Ubai.

After the battle of Badr, he announced that he had become a
Muslim, butin reality he was still a rejector of faith.

During the battle of Badr, the Quraish wrote a letter to Abdullah
Ibn Ubai, “You have given protection to our people.

We promise you that if you don't kill them or remove them from
Madinah, we will all come together and attack you and make
your women our slaves.”

When Mohammad (peace be upon him) learnt the contents of
this letter, he went to Abdullah Ibn Ubai and asked him if he was
ready to fight his own brothers and sons. Since many people
from Madinah had turned Muslims, Abdullah understood what
Muhammad (peace be upon him) meant and hence could not do
what was commanded to him in the letter.

Abdullah Ibn Ubai was not only hand in glove with the Quraish
of Makkah but was also conspiring with the enemies of Islam
around ould instigate them to fight against the Muslims.

Once he sent a message to the popular clan—Banu Nazir of the
Yahudis. These people had strong forts and were ready to sign
an agreement with Muhammed (peace be upon him).

Abdullah Ibn Ubai wrote to them “Do not agree to his order. Our
neighbour Banu Khuraiza will help you and I will send two
thousand men for your help.”

It was during this time, the following verse of the Quran was
revealed, “Did you see? Munafig tells his kaafir (disbeliever)
brothers that if you go to fight the Muslims, we will join you.
And in front of you, we will not heed to anyone's orders and if
anyone fights you, we will also come to help you.”

(Surah Hashar 11-12).

But what really happened was that Prophet Muhammed (peace
be upon him) reached an agreement with Banu Khuraiza. This
clan did not help Banu Nazir and the Munafiqs were not bold
enough to come out in the open against Islam. In this manner,
the evilintentions of Abdullah Ibn Ubai were ruined.

Abdullah Ibn Ubai had such a destructive quality in him that he
would not let go a single opportunity against Prophet
Muhammed (peace be upon him) or the Muslims. He just had
one desire, which was to finish the spirit of Islam. For that, he
would conspire with the rejecters of faith on one hand and on
the other hand would try to spread unrest among the Muslims
too.

Once, there was a fight between a Muhajir (one who migrated
“Se from Makka to Madi

- and an Ansaar(one who was a dweller
= of Madinah) tegarding bringing water from aspring, butsome \.

e Serre’ came and remade Mgh Andes i Tbn,
of this (despite the issu eing resol ye ;

favoured the Muhajireen unnecessarily to such an extent that
he is now attacking you. Don't let this opportunity go from your
hands now, stop helping him and he will leave this place on his
own.”

The people went and informed the Prophet (peace be upon him)
about this incident. Hazrat (RAA) was also present. He became
red with fury. He asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to
command him cut the munafiq's neck. But the Prophet (peace
be upon him) said, “would you like a discussion about how
Muhammed (peace be upon him) kills his companions”? This
meant that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not like his
decision of cutting Abdullah Ibn Ubai's neck.

It was strange but true that Abdullah Ibn Ubai was a Munafiq
who was the sworn enemy of Islam, but his son whose name was
also Abdullah was an ardent follower of Islam. Everyone had
heard about Prophet Muhammed's (peace be upon him) anger
over Abdullah Ibn Ubai's misdeeds which had given rise to the
news that Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) would
soon issue orders to kill him. When Abdullah heard this, he
came to Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) and said,
“The world knows that I am dedicated to serving my father, but
if it is your wish, then order me and I will cut his head and bring
it to you. It should not be so that you command someone else to
do it, and out of honour and love for my father, I will kill the one
who kills him. 3 Met thigysProphet ee (peace be

5

On another occasion, the Munafig attacked the self- respect and
honour of the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him). He had
the audacity of accusing Hazrat Ayesha (may Allah be pleased
with him).

Hazrat Ayesha (peace be upon her), was the daughter of Islam's
prominent figure, Hazrat Abubakr Siddiqui (peace be upon her)
and the beloved wife of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon
him). Abdullah Ibn Ubai's plot was to create such a situation
that would create a split between Prophet Muhammed (peace
be upon him) and Ayesha (peace be upon her). If this happened,
there would be a disagreement between the Prophet
Muhammed (peace be upon him) and Abubakr (may Allah be
pleased with him), which would lead to a separation between
the two prominent figures of Islam. But Allah did not let his plan
succeed. Verses were revealed by Allah in the Holy Quran which
safeguarded her modesty and purity and thus disgraced the
leader of the Munafiqs once again. In this regard too, Prophet
Muhammed (peace be upon him) did not say anything to him,
but left him to the justice of Allah.

=

the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) to read his
janaaza salah (funeral prayers). Not only did Prophet
Muhammed (peace be upon him) lead the prayers but also gave S
his own cloth (shirt) for the funeral.

Seeing this, everyone was surprised. Hazrat Umar (may Allah —
be pleased with him) could not contain his curiosity and asked,
‘Oh Rasulallah (Prophet of Allah). You read his funeral salah
when he did this and that.” Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon
him) tried to brush off his query by simply saying, “Oh, go away
Umar.” But when Umar insisted, he said, “If I was given the
right and the knowledge, that by reading it 70 times, he will be
granted forgiveness, then I would read it more than that.”

The answer was a Clear and satisfying one for Hazrat Umar (may
Allah be pleased with him) and the other sahaabas (followers)
that Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) had done this
deed for the son of that misfortunate, whose name was also
Abdullah.

Which means that, Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him)
led the prayers to make Abdullah happy, but Abdullah Ibn Ubai
will of course bea Jahannami.

Moral

« We should accept Islam and its teachings with a
pure heart and not just verbally or for the purpose of
some worldly gain.

Harbouring animosity for Allah Almighty , Allah's
Prophet (peace be upon him) and Islam isa
complete destruction of our aakhirah (life after
death).

Hijri (as per Islamic calendar), a few people of Yamama came to
the Prophet Mohammad(peace be upon him) and became
Muslims. One of them was Musailima Kazzab. It was that era
when almost all of Arab was under Islamic rule and the Prophet
(peace be upon him) was the head of this Islamic State.

At that time, the people who came to the Prophet Muhammed
(peace be upon him), were given knowledge of Islam and were
helped to learn the Quran too. To teach the Quran to the people
of Yamama, Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him)
appointed the famous Qazi (person who recites the Quran with
the proper rules of recitations), Hazrat Ubai Ibne Kaab (may
Allah be pleased with him).

The people would learn the Quran from him, but Musailima
Kazzab would not attend these sessions giving the excuse of
taking care of people's luggage. The fortunate people of
Yamama would take the opportunity of gaining knowledge of
Islam in the company of the Prophet Muhammed (peace be
upon him) and the sahaaba but Musailima would be sitting and
pondering aimlessly.

He thought that Mohammad (peace be upon him) became a
ruler because he was accepted as_ a Prophet, and said to
himself “If I announce that I have been blessed with prophet
hood too, then I can also have as many devoted followers as
Mohammad (peace be upon him) and will become a ruler like
him.”

Allah, protect us from the temptations of the shaitaan and the
traps laid by him. Musailima became a victim of shaitaan and on
returning to his native place after a few days, announced that he
had turned a Prophet. Many from his community became his
supporters. He wrote a letter to Prophet (peace be upon him)
saying, “I share the title of being a Prophet with you. So, half of
the kingdom will be of Quraish and the other half will be mine.”

Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) replied to his letter
thus: “Bismillah hir rahman nir raheem! This letter is from
Allah's Rasool (prophet) addressed to Musailima Kazzab. I send
my greetings to the ones who will value Allah's guidelines. After
this, the land is of Allah, He will inherit it to his beloved follower
and itis the best decision for those who fear his disobedience.”

What Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) meant by this is
that nobody can become a Prophet without Allah's will and
command. Allah selects only pious believers who fear Him as
phets and nobody has He to declare himself as a Prophet —

535)

After this letter, the Prophet (peace be upon him) expired. Since
he had mentioned in his letter the name of Musailima Kazzab,
he became famous. The news of Prophet Muhammed's (peace
be upon him) death spread far and there was widespread
unrest. With the death of the Prophet (Peace be upon Him )
those people who were weak in their faith turned away from it
and some others refused to give Zakat.

After the Prophet (peace be upon him), Hazrat Abubakr
Siddiqui(may Allah be pleased with him) one of his
companions became the first Khalifah- leader of Muslim
community. Immediately after taking over, he turned his
attention towards those who refused to give Zakat and those
who had turned Murtad who had turned their backs on Islam
after accepting it.

In this regard, Hazrat Akarma Ibn Abuzahal with a few Mujahids
,those who struggle in the cause of Allah and Islam were sent
to Musailima Kazzab to go and teach hima lesson.

On reaching Yamama H

Aime Ibn Abuzahal attacked
e ate ae Islamic army. This
andpeoplecame

strong army of 40 thousand soldiers. Many in this army
considered Kazzab as a liar and had not brought faith in his
claim of being a prophet. But since he was a man from their
clan( kabila), they were ready to help him with their wealth and
even life.

When Hazrat Abubakr Siddiqui (may Allah be pleased with him)
got the news of the defeat of Akarma (Radhi Allahu anhu), he
sent Khalid Bin Walid to fight against Musailima Kazzab. Hazrat
Khalid Bin Walid collected about 13 thousand Mujahids in his
army till he reached Yamama. Musailima was in his garden
along with his army too.

When he was informed by his spies about the approaching
Islamic army, he immediately commanded his army of around
40,000 soldiers to attack the Islamic army of 13,000 solider.
Lashkar-e-Islam (the Islamic army) battled against the
disbelievers which took place in the month of Zil Hijjah and year
of 11 Hijri, Hazrat Khalid bin Walid defended this attack with
great stabilityand attacked the enemy's army.

This time, the Muslims were in full force. The army of Musailima
Kazzab was weakened. They began to return back to the garden.
The Muslims broke open the gate and entered the garden.
Musailima's people asked him “when will the promise of ain
_ be fulfilled, that y d

“This is not the time to ask such questions. Every man should
fight for his kith and kin.” Musailima Kazzab then got onto a
weapon laden horse and went ahead to show off his power to
the army. Seeing him, Khalid Bin Walid began exerting more
force. Mujahidins had broken the walls surrounding the garden
and had entered the garden.

Now, Musailima was certain of his defeat. He wanted to quietly
run away but Wahishi (may Allah be pleased with him) saw this
and put him to death then and there. With his death, the
battlefield was clear and in just a short while, the Islamic army
had spread inside the garden. Among all the battles that had
taken place between the disbelievers and the Muslims _ this
was the biggest battle. (Fought by Musailima and the Muslims).

This was the fate of Musailima Kazzab's false prophethood.
Many in that era wanted to challenge prophethood and become
rulers, but Hazrat Abubakr Siddiqui (may Allah be please with
him) ruined their plans. Peace and harmony returned to Arab
and other places, the law of Allah brought prosperity along with
it. But the Murtads had ruined their aakhirah and among them,
the name of Musailima Kazzab is the most prominent.

Moral

« Always fear disobeying Allah and keep yourself away
from deeds that will displease Allah.

+ Jealousy and Anger are few of the many bad qualities of
shaitaan.

* To retain your faith, always seek Allah's blessings, for
we may not know when our heart and mind will change.

dB Zecoming A Murtadf?

Jabla Ibn ae was an emperor, of the ay ot Gassaan. This
emperor was a big enemy of Islam and huge danger to the
Muslim community during that time. However later this
emperor finally saw the beauty of Islam and that it is a religion
of peace which gives proper guidance to all mankind and
teaches to worship only one lord Allah, the Almighty Master.
After understanding Islam, he became a muslim.

When he decided to become a Muslim, Hazrat Umar (May Allah
be pleased with him) was the Khalifah (leader of Muslim
community). The king wrote a letter to the leader of the Muslim
community saying, “I wish to join your community and become
a Muslim.” He handed over the letter to a messenger and
directed him to bring its answer back to him as soon as
possible. After the messenger left, Ibn Aham began guessing
how the Amirul Mominin (leader of the Muslims) would treat
the messenger.

He was also wondering if they would reject his letter
considering that he was their sworn enemy. The messenger
returned with the reply and read it aloud, “You come
immediately and become a Muslim. After embracing Islam, you
will become my brother and we can share all our happiness and
sadness.”

Receiving this reply, Jabla Ibn was happy and surprised too. He
was surprised because Hazrat Umar (May Allah be pleased with
him) did not keep any condition, did not threaten him or accuse
him of anything. Instead, he had written words that were full of
love and equality. This encouraged him.

Along with 500 of his devoted followers, he started going
towards Madinah with complete pomp and splendour.

He stopped at a distance from Madinah and sent a message to
Hazrat Umar(may Allah be pleased with him) about his arrival.
The people of Madinah were overjoyed when they heard the
news of Jabla Ibn Aham's arrival.

They were happy because Jabla of Gassaan, a powerful emperor
who was the sworn enemy of Muslims and was a major threat to
them was coming to Madina with the intention of embracing
Islam. Big and small, everyone lined up the road to see him.
Many climbed the rooftops and waited for him to come. Jabla
ordered his companions to wear their clothes made out of
golden threads and fine silk and adorn it with uniforms
embellished with red silk and zardosi work. They were told to
wear their silver batches. The horses to be covered with silk and
their necks adorned with gold chains.

Jabla wore on his head a crown made of pure gold which was
studded with precious gems. On either side of the crown were
_ two pigeon-egg sized precious and invaluable pearls.

“Dressed, showing off his wealth and pomp, he entered
Madinah. Hazrat Umar(May Allah be pleased with him)
welcomed him complete respect and honour.

Jabla was in Madinah when it was time for Hajj. Hajj is one of the
compulsory acts of worship ordained by Allah on Muslims,
wherein the Muslims have to visit Ka‘aba (the first Masjid built
for the worship of Allah) in the city of Makkah and perform
certain rituals.

Hazrat Umar Faruk (May Allah be pleased with him) left for Hajj
and took Jabla along with him. But during Hajj, an incident took
place that turned the fortunes of Jabla. It so happened that
during tawaaf (act of going around the ka'aba), an Arab youth
was right behind Jabla. Accidently his leg fell on Jabla's ihram
which loosened it and it opened up.. This angered the emperor
of Gassann and he gave the youth a hard punch. The punch was
so hard that the youth lost his eyesight. During tawaaf, the
youth did not say a word.

When Hajj was over and the youth reached his qabilah (clan)
and narrated the incident, there was a huge uproar. Some 100
people came to Hazrat Umar (May Allah be pleased with him)
and challenged Jabla for this action. Hazrat Umar (May Allah be
pleased with him) called on Jabla and questioned him:

Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): Why did you
destroy this youth's eyes?

Jabla: He humiliated me. Ina crowd, he embarrassed me.

Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): The youth has
told the entire story. According to him, his leg accidently fell on
your ihram. For such a small error, such a big punishment is
sheer torture.

Jabla: Just to make a poor man happy, why is this incident being
givenso much importance?

Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): Islam does not
distinguish between the rich and the poor. In Islam, God
consciousness and good deeds elevate the status of a man. It is
not elevated with regards to wealth, genes, inheritance, colour
and beauty.

Jabla: So what do you mean?

Hazrat Umar(may Allah be please with him): Either you
apologise to this youth, or give him something to reach an
agreement. Otherwise, it is an eye for an eye. That means, you
destroyed his eyesight, so your eyesight will be destroyed too.

Jabla: So, should I ask this poor youth for forgiveness, whose
blanket too has holes init? This is not possible for me.

o

Jabla returned to his camp, and began thinking of ways to
escape. Finally, along with his 500 followers, he left Makkah.
But instead of going back to Gassaan, he went to Rome which
was under the rule of King Harkul.

Harkul welcomed him warmly. He not only gave him a huge
palace to live in but a kingdom which was even bigger than
Gassaan. Jabla converted to Christianity and began living with
even more pomp and splendour than in Gassaan.

Once, a Kaasid (messenger) of Hazrat Umar (May Allah be
pleased with him) came to Harkul. This messenger was Hazrat
Jussamma. Hazrat Jussamma was in talks with Harkul when the
latter said, “Jussamma, have you met your neighbouring king
Jabla Ibn Aham?” Jussamma replied, “No. Is he here?” Harkul
replied, “Yes, he is here. You must meet him. You will be happy
to meet him.”

The truth behind suggesting this meeting was that Harkul
wanted to impress upon Jussamma (RA) that the person whom
you did not honour but rather invited his anger for a small issue
is honoured by us and is living here in full honour and luxury.

Harkul sent one man with Hazrat Jussamma (RA) who took him
to Jabla's palace. When Jussamma (may Allah be pleased with
him) witnessed the splendour of his palace, it somehow
eclipsed the splendour of Harkul’s kingdom too.

s

From the entrance right up to Jabla's throne was laid a soft,
velvet carpet in which one's leg could almost dig into the
ground. In the front side of the white-stone throne were laid out
some gold chairs. One of the chairs was adorned with gems and
other precious stones. . On both sides of the throne, there were
beautiful maids who were wearing silken costumes and holding
silver boxes in their hands. Beautiful curtains were hanging
from all sides and the fragrance of perfume emanated in the air.

When Jabla saw Hazrat Jusamma (RA) coming towards him, he
stood up and greeted him warmly. He then seated him ona chair
beside him and their conversation was as follows:

Jabla: Say, Jusamma, howare you?

Jusamma: Alhamdulillah (the grace of Allah is on us).
Jabla: Whatis the state of the Muslims?

Jusamma: Good and by Allah's grace, their population is
growing by leaps and bounds.

Jabla: And is Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) still alive?

Jusamma: By God's grace, the leader of our community is happy
and healthy. Infact, it was Umar (May Allah be pleased with
him) who sent me to Harkulas his messenger.

a

Hearing about Umar's (May Allah be pleased with him) well-
being, there was some sadness on Jabla's face. He waited for a
brief moment. In the meanwhile, Hazrat Jussamma's (may Allah
be pleased with him) sight fell on the golden chair, on which he
was seated. At once, he sat up uttering ‘Lahaulwalakuwata” and
went and sat on an ordinary seat. When Jabla asked him the
reason for this, he said, “Our prophet Mohammad (peace be
upon him) has prohibited us from sitting on gold and silver
chairs”.

When Hazrat Jussamma(RA) uttered the name of Prophet
Muhammed (peace be upon him), Jabla quietly said ‘peace be
upon him’ under his breath, but Hazrat Jussamma (may Allah be
pleased with him) heard it. He understood that the effect of
Islam was not completely wiped out from his heart. So, he again
invited him to return to Islam. He said, “Jabla, after turning
towards Islam and helping to spread it, why did you convert to
Christianity? I am advising you as a friend to accept Islam
again.” F

Hearing this, Jabla took a deep breath and asked, “Jussamma,
after doing so many misdeeds, can I still become a Muslim?
Jussamma, tell me the truth. Will your religion accept a dirty
man like me again? No Jussamma! This looks very difficult now.”

Hazrat Jussamma (RA)
understood from his talks
that despite turning away
from Islam and acquiring
more pomp and splendour,
he was still unhappy from
inside. He felt that, with
some advice, he can again
help him revert to Islam.
So, he tried to reason with

s,

him, “Jabla, don't be kiddish. , Even Ashab Ibn Kais had turned a
disbeliever like you. He had even waged a war against Muslims.
But still, when he accepted Islam, Hazrat Abubakr Siddique
(may Allah be pleased with him) not only forgave him for all his
misdeeds but also got his sister Ume Fazda married to him. Oh
Jabla! Don't pride about all the pomp and splendour of this
world. All this is a fantasy.

In this manner, Hazrat Jussamma (may Allah be pleased with him) kept
advising him. Jabla heard him for along time and then said, “Jussamma!
If | can become a Muslim, | will come back to Islam, but | have two
conditions.” _

“What's that?” Hazrat Jussamma (may Allah be pleased with him) asked
immediately. He replied, “My first condition is that Hazrat Umar (RA)
should get his daughter married to me and my second condition is that
after him, |am declared the next Khalifah .”

The real reason behind these conditions was that Jabla had not
forgotten the punishment pronounced on him when he had
destroyed the youth's eye. He was scared that the case might be
reopened. He wanted to safeguard himself by getting these
conditions fulfilled. It would have been better if the
misfortunate had mentioned the reason behind these
conditions. How would Hazrat Jussamma (RA) know what was
going onin his head?

He heard his conditions
and answered, “I cannot
promise more than what I
am entitled to. By
convincing Amirul
Mominin, I can get you
married to Amirul
Mominin's daughter but as
_ far as making you the

w

religious head is concerned, that is a different issue. I cannot
take any responsibility for that.”

“Which means, it is difficult” were the words that came out of
Jabla's mouth. He hosted Hazrat Jussamma (may Allah be
pleased with him) with utmost pomp. While bidding him
farewell, he gave several gifts and one thousand gold coins and
said, “These gifts and gold coins are from me for Hazrat Hassan
Bin Saabit (may Allah be pleased with him). Please give this to
him as well as my salaam (greetings)”.

Saying this, he bid farewell to Hazrat Jussamma (may Allah be
pleased with him).

When Jussamma(RA) left Rome and reached Madinah, he
narrated everything to Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with
him ). He also told him that how desperate Jabla was to become
a Muslim again and also about his two conditions. Hazrat Umar
(may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Jussamma, you should
have accepted both his conditions. After all, all that happens is
as per Allah Almighty's wishes. If we reject his conditions, what
will happen? We do not know when death will come upon us. If
one of Allah Almighty's creations is protected from Allah
Almighty's wrath and we get some blessings in that regard, than
that will suffice for us.”

o

Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent one
messenger to Harkul. He told the messenger to first go to Jabla
and accept his conditions, convert him to Islam and bring him
to Madinah.

When the messenger reached Rome, he saw that from the gates
of the city, there was a funeral passing with much pomp. Many
eminent people were part of the funeral procession and the
arrangements made looked as though made by officials of the
kingdom. When the messenger inquired, “Whose funeral is
this?” he got the answer, “Jabla Ibn Aham, the king of Gassaan.”

“Inna lillahi wa inna illaihi raajihun,” recited the messenger

and feeling remorse for Jabla's misfortune, he just stood still in
bereavement.

Moral

The story of the misfortunate Emperor of Gassaan came to

an end but sadly he remained an unbeliever. We learn

from this episode that:

* The pride of his wealth and status did not allow him to
remain steadfast in his faith and he turned to his old
religion, leaving Islam.

After turning a disbeliever, he lost peace of mind and

despite acquiring all the riches of the world, he could
not attain 'real happiness’.

Delay in returning back to Islam gave him a death of a
non believer.

¢ We should accept Islam as our way of life without
conditions and accept it with pure heart and be ready
for any kind of sacrifice which Allah Almighty
commands from us.

Salba Bin Haatib
(One Who Loved Worldly Things)

After Allah Almighty appointed our beloved Prophet,
Mohammad (Peace be upon him) as Prophet, He preached Islam
in the city of Makkah. When some people of Makkah started —
troubling him and his companions, the Prophet (Peace be upon
him) and his companions migrated to the city of Madinah as per
Allah's orders.

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) preached Islam in Madinah
too. Because of the Prophets (Peace be upon him) teachings
many people accepted Islam and became Muslims. Some
became Momins (true believers). Some turned to be Murtads
(those who turned against Islam's principles and some were
Munafiqs (those who harboured animosity against Islam).

All the companions of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) were
Momins and followed all His instructions, whether they liked it
or not. Even if they were at a loss, they used to accept the
Instructions of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) as it was a
command from Allah Almighty.

In the city of Madinah there was a man named Salba bin Haatib,
who too embraced Islam and became Muslim. He was staying
_ with all the other momins. Salba lived in such pious —
. environment. He lived with the ;

o

upon him) company. He obtained the best of the knowledge
from these scholars but unfortunately, his heart was desirous of
worldly things like money, property, etc. His love for wealth and
prosperity was more than his love for Allah Almighty, Islam and
the Prophet (peace be upon him). Therefore he became a
misfortunate.

He had also seen that when the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
prayed in favour of someone, the prayer was always accepted.
An idea struck his mind and his face lit up. He became very
happy and thought of asking the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
for praying for him. He went to the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
and said “Oh Rasulallah (Prophet of Allah), Pray for me that I
get a lot of wealth.” The Prophet (Peace be upon him)
understood his wrong intentions and said to him “Pity on your
condition Salba. Don't you want to be like me who can spend his
life with what you have and have patience and faith in Allah
Almighty? If I wish I can make the mountains move as per my
instructions by the order of Allah Almighty.”

With this statement the Prophet (Peace be upon him) made it
clear to Salba that though he can do impossible things possible
by the power of his dua, Salba should not ask for something
which will make him repent in future. More money will put more
responsibilities on him and he will not be able to give proper
time to the worship of Allah Almighty, doing good acts and
helping others. This will spoil his aakhirah and he will fail in his
test of this world. Those who have trust in Allah Almighty are
satisfied by whatever little Allah Almighty has given them.

~

But Salba did not listen to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and ~
started arguing with the Prophet (Peace be upon him). He said
“O Prophet of Allah, please pray for me. I swear by that one Lord
who has sent you as a true Prophet that if I get more wealth, I
will not stop following Allah Almighty orders. I will fulfil rights
of Allah Almighty by Worshiping Allah Almighty and serving
people and donating in the way of Allah Almighty.

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) tried to convince him a lot. He
told Salba “Behold! The little money that you have is much
better than enormous wealth which will not allow you to thank
Allah Almighty.

What the Prophet (Peace be upon him) meant by this was that if
he gets more wealth he will be engrossed in dealing with that
wealth and hence he will not get time to thank and Worship
Allah Almighty.

But Salba was adamant and he just wanted his wish to be
fulfilled. He wanted more money. The devil had taken control of
his mind. He requested very hard to the Prophet (Peace be upon
him) and at last got his wish fulfilled. The Prophet (Peace be
upon him) prayed for him to get more wealth.

Salba returned home happily. Salba had some cattle and goats.
48 ats.

The same year, Salba acquired a huge

He was happy that he was finally getting wealthy but his destiny
was Cursing him since it was this wealth that would eventually
destroy him.

To maintain this huge herd, Salba needed a charagah (land
meant for grazing) which was available outside the city of
Madinah. So he made arrangements to keep his herd there.

Since he had to leave Madinah and also look after his herd, he
could not reach the Masjid i:e Masjid-e-Nabvi for Isha salah. He
would pray there in the day but for the night (Isha) prayers, he
would pray alone near the Charagah.

Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him) had prayed for his
animals. The effects of his prayers were such that by next year
itself, big and small animals had multiplied in such a manner
that now the charagah could not suffice for them. Now, he tooka
bigger place which was further away from Madinah and shifted
his herd there. Consequently, he could not come to Masjid-e-
nabvi not just for the night prayers but also for the day time
prayers.

People would see him during the Friday salah but for a short
while. He uses to pray and leave immediately. But, how could he
sustain for long? Now, his animals had increased to such an
_ extent that maintaining them had become very important. This

His constant absence made the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
inquire about his status from his companions one day. The
companion said “Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him), in
order to maintain his growing herd, Salba has gone so far, that
he cannot come back. Hearing this, Prophet Muhammed (Peace
be upon him) uttered the same words that he had told Salba, “It
is a pity Salba Bin Haatib, to see you in this state.”

After some time, the ritual of Zakat (Charity) became
mandatory on the Muslims. Zakat is a type of charity which
every Muslim has to give to the poor or for some better cause
from his earnings.

Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him) appointed ‘two
elderly gentlemen to collect the Zakat. These two gentlemen
went to Salba to collect Zakat from him. Seeing his wealth go
out of his hand, Salba got scared and asked, “Have you brought
a written order from the Prophet (Peace be upon him) or should
Ijust hand it over to you believing what you say.”

It was indeed unfortunate that Salba had changed. He had no
trust in the gentlemen. When both the elderly men showed him
the order, the misfortunate man said, “This is jaziya (a security
money that was collected from non-muslims in that time).”
Then he thought awhile and said, “Ok, when you are returning
after having collected Zakat from everyone else, you can take it
from me.”

*

Did you see? Salba had turned into such a greedy man who
loved his wealth so dearly that it was hard for him to give it in
charity.

When both the elderly gentlemen came back to him after
collecting Zakat from everywhere, he again repeated his earlier
statements, “this is Jaziya and I ama Muslim. You please leave.
Iwill think and give you an answer.”

Everyone knows that when a greedy man is asked to give
charity, he either remains silent or gives some excuse so that
his wealth does not go out of his hands. Salba's excuse was a
proof that he too didn't want to give his wealth in charity.

Both the elderly gentlemen felt bad about Salba's excuse and
went back. When the Prophet (Peace be upon him) came to
know this he said “it is indeed an unfortunate state for Salba”.

After this incident, the following verses of the Quran were
revealed,

“And then there will be some people among them, who had
promised the Almighty that if He granted us wealth, then we will
spend in his way and do charity. But when Allah granted them
this favour, then they started acting miserly and turned their
back on Allah's commands and their own commitment.”
Chapter 9 Verse No. 75

Salba had made a similar promise
and commitment. Misfortunate
When the Prophet (Peace be upon
him) told this Aayat to the
Sahaba's, there were several
relatives of Salba present. When
they went and told the entire
episode to him, Salba realised his

mistake. He was scared that if the Prophet (Peace be uponhim) —
said any bad thing about him, then he would be destroyed in
this world and his aakhirah would be ruined too. He took the
Zakat money and ran to the Prophet (Peace be upon him). But
on sighting him the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, “I have
been prohibited to take Zakat from you by Allah Almighty.”

Hearing this, he felt dejected and started to leave. When he was
leaving, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) looked at him and
said, “This is the result of your stubbornness and greed. Had I
not stopped you?”

Misfortunate Salba returned in a sad state .After Prophet
Muhammed, Abu bakar Siddiqui (may Allah be pleased with
her) became the Khalifah. Salba came to him too with Zakat but
Hazrat Siddiqui (may Allah be pleased with him) too refused to
take it. When Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)
became Khalifah, Salba came to him too, but again Hazrat Umar
(may Allah be pleased with him) refused to take the Zakat.

This is the story of this misfortunate.

His story is so terrifying that we pray to Allah Almighty that
‘Almighty, bestow upon us the sense to fulfil the guidance given
to us through our Prophet (Peace be upon him),and we do not
hesitate to spend the our wealth. Also, let not Shaitaan
misguide us and we end up in the state as Salba was.

“Rabbana aatina fidduniya hasanatan wa fil aakhirati
hasanataun wa kina azabannar.”

“O Allah! Bestow upon us favours of this world as well as of the
hereafter and save us from torment of Hellfire.”

si The Last Word

These are the stories with lessons in them, which when read, can scare you
off. Did you read them? Shaitaan showed his arrogant acts one after another
and did not hesitate to tell Allah Almighty) that he will attack Human beings
from all sides. He will trap man into the web of desires. Shaitaan is waiting
anxiously. He is showing human beings a beautiful picture and creating new
desires in him. With his tricks, if he can distract the faithful even for some
time, he makes sure to drown him completely. He has ruined many
people—like destroying the sons of Prophets, and people with immense
knowledge too. There were those faithful slaves of Allah Almighty too whom
he trapped, and they forgot their Master. Also, those who understood the
spirit of Islam and came forward to accept it willingly also came under his
influence.

“Inna lillahi wa inna ilahi rajioon”.

“Surely we belong to Allah and to him we shall return.”

If one wants to protect himself from the clutches of Shaitaan, then the
solution is provided in the Quran. When accepting the open challenge of
Shaitaan, Allah Almighty had said that the man who remembers me, abides
by my commands and who follows my instructions, you cannot do any harm
to him.

Those who follow Shaitaan should not forget that their ultimate Master is
Allah Almighty. Do not boast. Fear the day of judgement. Follow the
guidance prescribed by the Prophet (Peace be upon him). Always pray to
Allah Almighty for the sustenance of his faith and the prosperity of Islam. Do
not avoid following Allah's Almighty instructions. Prayers, seeking
forgiveness and reading the Istegfar are the strongest weapons that every
Muslim can use to defeat Shaitaan. Insha Allah , all this will keep him
safeguarded. Also, keep referring to such stories as mentioned in this book.
Such stories help in bringing about positive changes. I would like to request
all those who read this book, that when they pray to Allah Almighty, they do
not forget to pray for the one who collected these stories for you. Also pray
for me that he bestows on me the ability to do good work and brings me
death with my faith intact.

“Fatirassamawati wal ardh. Anta waliyyi fidduniya wal aakhirati, tawaffani
musliman wa al hikni bisswalihin”

Taalib-e-dua

Ma'el Khairabadi